1. Field of the Invention
The handheld spray receptor provides an alternative method of dispensing liquids under pressure, as might be alternatively accomplished with an aerosol container, or a traditional spray gun. Traditional aerosol cans often dispense hazardous materials, and when the actuator or vertical valve on an aerosol can becomes clogged, the entire can becomes useless, and is often discarded improperly, creating a hazard.
Cleaning out the actuator and vertical valve of an aerosol can is difficult and often ineffective. A purging capability can be approximated with an aerosol can, but requires expensive equipment specially designed, in most instances.
2. Description of Prior Art
The most traditional method of selling and dispensing liquid materials is by way of the traditional aerosol can. The propellant utilized in traditional aerosol cans is often hostile to living beings, and as such provides a hazard to the user of the aerosol can, as well as a pollutant to the environment as a whole. Aerosol cans also provide poor economy for viscous liquids. Viscous liquids must be thinned with a material which is often detrimental to the user and the environment, such as paint thinner or methyl alcohol. It is not uncommon for a consumer to receive an aerosol product with 90% thinner, and 10% product, making the aerosol can an expensive method of delivering product. An aerosol can may purge the material in the feed tube and actuator button, by holding the can upside down and depressing the actuator button, but this can cause the propellant to become exhausted, rendering the aerosol can useless, even though there may be additional liquid still in the can. In addition, the actuator button often becomes clogged, causing the remaining liquid to be unusable. Aerosol cans create a major disposal problem, when they become empty, and are hazardous materials that must be properly handled to be safely disposed of.
A variant of the traditional aerosol can is the aerosol powered foam container, as might be used to dispense shaving cream. These cans typically utilize an actuator that is crimped to the mouth of the can, accompanied by a slot or other large flow opening which releases the material rather than spraying it. U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,986 provides an example of this kind of application.
Other mechanisms utilize an extension tube and a piston effect to dispense liquid in a flow, not a spray. U.S. Pat. No. 3,346,194 provides an example of this kind of dispenser.
Lawn and garden sprayers have been developed which dispense liquid materials under pressure. These are often provided with a compression pump, allowing the operator to pressurize the liquid in the tank, and to release fertilizer, herbicides, or pesticides (or any other liquid that might be useful in gardening) by means of a trigger mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,995 discloses an enhanced method of attaching a hose to such a sprayer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,837 discloses a sprayer with a traditional vertical action valve assembly.
Inventions directed to dispensing personal care products perform similar functions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,190,502 discloses an invention that will dispense shampoo in a commercial shop, such as a beauty salon or a barber shop. A fixed electrical pump is used to create pressure on the tank of liquid to be dispensed, and the handheld receptor creates a flow of shampoo, and not a spray of material.
Handheld pump sprayers are available to dispense insecticides, such as the spray pumps that come attached to ant or roach poison products sold in hardware and lawn and garden stores. The dispensed material is typically carried in one hand, and the other hand dispenses materials by squeezing the handle in a repeated fashion, so as to cause the liquid to be dispensed in a spray or a single stream. Such systems have also been developed to dispense cooking oil, or other such viscous liquids. U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,383 discloses a handheld pumping mechanism attached to a feed hose, so that vegetable oil may be sprayed on a cooking surface. The liquid is not under pressure, and the operator provides the mechanical energy required to operate the hand pump, thereby controlling the amount of material dispensed.
A traditional spray-gun, as might be utilized to spray paint, utilizes an air compressor to provide pressure, and typically features a container into which the liquid to be sprayed is placed. Some spraying systems have been developed specifically for dispensing a measured amount of material from an aerosol can. U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,281 utilizes a reservoir onto which an vertical action valve assembly is attached. Both a traditional spray-gun and a device with a reservoir have the problem of cleaning out the residual material upon last use of the day. When used to dispense materials that harden when exposed to air, such as paint, both the reservoir and the actuator must be purged of material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,939 discloses a handheld paint sprayer which does not contain a reservoir, but which provides a special valve which directs compressed air through the spray actuator while insuring that no compressed air causes “backflow” of the liquid intake hoses. Like many other actuator assemblies, cleaning of the actuator and valve assemblies is time consuming and complicated.
The cleaning of actuators, also referred to as nozzles, can be accomplished with specialized and dedicated equipment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,114 B1 demonstrates an apparatus for forcing solvent through one or more nozzles, and capturing the spray for reuse, or for disposal.
When portability is not required, there are a number of inventions which provide purging capabilities. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,803,109 and 6,116,261 are examples of mechanisms employed in automated paint application systems, as might be found in an automotive assembly plant. These systems employ complex automation to engage the purge cycle, and are integrated into a factory's equipment.
Large industrial paint systems, which are designed to change the color of paint applied on a frequent basis, often include a purging capability. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,981,320; 4,232,055; 5,072,881; 3,240,225; and 3,716,191 are examples of large industrial systems designed with purge capabilities. The purge capability is included to permit a single nozzle or set of nozzles to be supplied with different colors of paint, without disassembling the equipment for cleaning.
Systems designed to dispense special materials, such as powder paint, also employ purging systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,112,999 and 6,315,214 provide examples of systems that dispense special paints, and employ a purging capability. Specialized amine-assisted systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,196 also employ purging systems to clean the nozzle of the mechanism.
The prior art provides solutions for the casual consumer, such as a typical homeowner, and for the major industrial factory. The consumer on a shop floor, such as a maintenance depot, finds aerosol cans to be hazardous, ineffective, wasteful, and expensive. A simple handheld receptor, made from standard parts or easily manufactured parts, has not been available to a facility that is otherwise forced to use many aerosol cans, or expensive equipment that is not cost effective. Such a handheld receptor is the object of this invention, through a model that dispenses a liquid which is not prone to clog the nozzle on the actuator, as well as a model that provides a simple purging mechanism, for use with paints and other liquids which have a tendency to clog the actuator.